Inside Brief
- The National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC) emphasizes that quantum networking has the potential to drive U.S. economic growth and bolster national security, but only with sustained investment in research and development.
- Quantum networking could enhance technologies like quantum computing, communication and sensing, potentially revolutionizing sectors like encryption and navigation.
- The committee recommends strategic funding for quantum networking testbeds, international collaboration and workforce development to secure American leadership in this emerging field.
The National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC) reports that quantum networking has the potential to create real world benefits in U.S. economy, as well as bolster national security. The report — Quantum Networking: Findings and Recommendations for Growing American Leadership — also emphasizes the need for American leadership and sustained federal investment to accelerate research and development (R&D) in quantum networking, a technology that has the potential to link quantum devices in ways that could improve computing, communication and sensing technologies, among other uses.
Quantum networking, while still in its infancy, enables the extremely sensitive transmission of quantum states and the distribution of entanglement across multiple quantum information systems.
This capability could eventually allow quantum computers to work together at scale, creating powerful distributed quantum computing systems or highly sensitive quantum sensors. These quantum sensors could be used for ultra-precise measurements in fields like navigation, medical imaging and environmental monitoring. According to the report, quantum networking could also improve encryption systems, allowing for highly secure communication channels that surpass the capabilities of current classical networks.
As with most quantum technologies, the potential benefits and capabilities are matched with actual technological complexities, challenges that require a coordinated approach to solve.
The NQIAC, established under the 2018 National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Act, serves to advise the President and other key government stakeholders on the U.S. quantum information science (QIS) strategy. This latest report is a follow-up to earlier recommendations — including the 2020 National Quantum Coordination Office report on A Strategic Vision for America’s Quantum Networks and the 2021 National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science report on A Coordinated Approach to Quantum Networking Research — and focuses specifically on growing U.S. leadership in quantum networking—a key pillar in the broader quantum ecosystem.
Quantum Networking’s Economic and National Security Potential
The report opens by highlighting the significant but still evolving role that quantum networking could play in the United States’ future. It asserts that the technology could ultimately enhance national security by enabling more secure communication systems and improving various sensing capabilities. However, the report stresses that the full magnitude of this impact remains uncertain and can only be clarified through sustained R&D.
While quantum networking has yet to demonstrate its full practical potential, its long-term importance is clear. The committee adds: “Quantum networking capabilities will play a role in U.S. economic prosperity and national security, but the magnitude of that role will only be clarified through sustained research and development.”
The advisory committee believes that failing to invest in this area could result in the U.S. losing its competitive edge to other nations that are already aggressively pursuing quantum technologies.
Why Continued Investment Matters
To ensure the U.S. remains on top of quantum innovation, the NQIAC calls for ongoing federal support for quantum networking R&D. In particular, the committee highlights the need for investment across several critical areas, including:
- Theoretical research to better understand the fundamental principles behind quantum networks.
- Device development to advance the underlying hardware required to make quantum networks operational.
- Systems integration to ensure that different quantum technologies can work together effectively within a network.
Quantum networking’s ultimate applications are diverse. Among the most promising is quantum key distribution (QKD), which leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to create ultra-secure cryptographic keys. The technology could be used in sectors where secure communication is paramount, such as defense and finance. However, QKD has its challenges. As the report notes, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) does not yet approve QKD for national security purposes due to unresolved security issues and practical limitations.
Another promising area is distributed quantum computing, which involves connecting quantum processors over a network to create a larger, more powerful computing system. This approach could help overcome some of the scaling challenges currently facing quantum computing, such as the difficulty in building quantum computers with a high number of qubits on a single device. Quantum networks could also enable distributed quantum sensing, which would allow for ultra-sensitive measurements across great distances, improving technologies like GPS and astronomy.
The Role of Testbeds in Advancing Quantum Networking
One of the report’s key findings revolves around the term “testbeds.” In the quantum community, this term is often used ambiguously, leading to confusion about what a testbed entails.
The NQIAC report provides a clear definition: “A testbed is a platform or facility that is accessible to multiple users to conduct replicable and rigorous testing of component technologies, protocols, and systems integration.”
Testbeds differ from prototypes or demonstrators in that they allow for iterative, comparative testing of different technologies and configurations. The goal is not just to show that a particular technology works but to rigorously test it in different environments and use cases, allowing researchers to identify weaknesses and optimize performance.
This type of rigor is desperately needed in the quantum technology field because of its inherent complexities and vulnerabilities.
While there are already several quantum networking testbeds in operation around the world, including in the United States, the report notes that their practical or economic impact is still unclear. The NQIAC recommends that federal funding for testbeds be carefully allocated to ensure they are both “right-sized” and “properly timed.”
To put it more directly: testbeds should only be established when the underlying technology has reached a certain level of maturity and when there are clear objectives for what the testbed is meant to achieve.
Enhancing U.S. Leadership through Collaboration and Workforce Development
The NQIAC’s report stresses the importance of collaboration, both domestically and internationally. The U.S. government is urged to work with international allies and partners on joint quantum networking projects, which could accelerate the pace of research while avoiding duplicative efforts. This global collaboration is particularly important given the high level of investment in quantum technologies by other nations.
In addition to international collaboration, the report calls for greater industry involvement in quantum networking testbeds. By engaging the private sector, the U.S. government can ensure that research efforts align with the needs of businesses, helping to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial applications.
Moreover, quantum networking testbeds could play a crucial role in training the next generation of quantum scientists and engineers. As the report notes, “Quantum networking testbeds can lower the financial barrier to entry of new approaches, thereby broadening participation in the field to academic, government, and industry researchers and innovators.”
Testbeds could also be used to provide hands-on experience to students and early-career scientists, ensuring that the U.S. develops a workforce that is prepared to meet the challenges of the quantum era.
Past success suggests the potential of technological test beds to produce tangible results, according to the report. By extension, the committee sees the test bed model of addressing some of quantum networking’s technological challenges.
The committee writes: “For example, early testbeds for ARPANET accelerated the adoption of the internet, and various testbeds have been built to develop and test security and intrusion detection in industrial control systems including smart grid applications. Testbeds can also surface systems engineering challenges and integration complexities across the system stack that may not be present in a pristine laboratory setting.”
Recommendations for the U.S. Government
In its final section, the report offers seven key recommendations to the U.S. government to help grow American leadership in quantum networking. These include:
- Continued support for fundamental research in quantum networking and its enabling technologies.
- The development of metrics to measure progress in quantum networking research.
- Investment in a coordination model that integrates quantum and classical networking technologies.
- Strategic funding for testbeds that align with specific scientific and economic goals.
- Support for industry participation in testbeds to ensure technologies are scalable and commercially viable.
- Prioritization of international collaboration with allied nations.
- Leveraging testbeds to train a diverse, highly-skilled quantum workforce.
The committee underscores the importance of the mission: “The United States must continue to invest wisely to retain and enhance its leadership position in QIS and, specifically, in quantum networking.”
